Guardrail plays an important role in saving the lives of people involved in accidents. It is commonly installed on interstates, highways, secondary roads, curved roads, road sides, bridges, corners, or even parking lots to shield vehicles from natural and man-made roadside hazards, such as cliffs, trees, rivers, ditches, utility poles, railroad tracks, signs, etc. For safety, strength, durability, and cost effectiveness, standard guardrail is made of 10-12 gauge, zinc plated galvanized steel.
Galvanized steel gives guardrail a dull, monotonous general appearance. Thus, most people often do not notice or pay attention to its existence until an accident occurs and it saves lives or prevents dreadful things from happening.
A variety of rail markers, delineators, reflectors, and the likes are available today to enhance guardrail's visibility and warn or otherwise inform drivers/motorists of danger. They are becoming increasingly desirable or even essential wherever guardrail, sometimes termed “guard rail”, is utilized.
Most of the existing guardrail reflectors/delineators are fabricated with prismatic and/or reflective materials. Some of these products require drilling holes through the guardrail to be permanently mounted thereon. Some are mounted through the center rail support bolts that are part of standard guardrails. A product named “Rail Bright” by US Reflector of Worcester, Mass., can be temporarily mounted on the guardrail without screws, glue, or tape. However, if permanent fixation is required, Rail Bright must be installed with double-sided pressure sensitive tape and/or aluminum rivets. Rail Bright is made of pre-formed (molded) plastic coated with a reflective film by 3M™.
Clearly, there is a continuing need in the art for a simple yet effective reflective/delineation system that can be securely mounted onto guardrails in a fast, efficient, and cost effective way without glues, adhesives, tapes, or any chemical bonding agents. The present invention addresses this need.